WA SBL Round 5: Lightning men taste defeat as Willetton women start to lift
Lakeside fell to their first defeat of the 2014 SBL men’s season as they split their weekend, while Willetton rocketed up the table with their first two wins of the women’s season to move into the top eight.
SBLSBL Men
Rockingham and South West Slammers opened the round with a thriller, with the Flames sneaking home by two points in a 93-91 victory. Despite shooting just 33% from the field, the home side got the win on the back of 30 points and 13 rebounds from Cooper Land and 21 points and 8 rebounds from Thomas Remmerswaal. Clive Weeden (20 points, 6 rebounds) and Ty Harrelson (19 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals) led the Slammers in defeat, with the visitors dropping to a 2-3 record.
Perth Redbacks cruised to a 106-88 win over East Perth, with an 11-point advantage at halftime setting up the win. Stanley Okoye continued his good form with 34 points, 14 rebounds and 4 steals, while Dennis Tawhiti bobbed up with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Nathan Friend was the high-point man for the Eagles with 22 points, while Kyle Armour (18 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists) was solid without being spectacular.
Geraldton moved to 5-2 on the season with a comfortable 116-80 win over Cockburn, who incidentally fell to 1-5. A 31-10 first quarter essentially put the game on ice early as the Cougars shot just 19% from the field and failed to make a single free-throw. Bennie Lewis (32 points, 7 rebounds) and Odartey Blankson (31 points, 10 rebounds, 10-16 FG) were superb for the Buccaneers, with Damien Scott netting 19 points for the visitors.
A blistering 40-point first quarter saw Goldfields finish 110-100 victors over Willetton, with the Giants shooting at 64% from the floor and 67% from deep in the first 12 minutes. The Tigers rallied to get back to within a point by halftime before the Giants eased the lead back out to the final margin over the course of the second half. Tommy Hannon (33 points, 19 rebounds) was brilliant for the winners, while Quinn McDowell (35 points, 13 rebounds) did his best to keep the Tigers in it.
Perry Lakes handed Lakeside their first loss of 2014 with an upset 111-105 win at home. Despite a 34-22 first term by the visiting Lightning, the Hawks rallied from five points down at three-quarter time to run over the top and shock their opponents. Justin Cecil came up huge for the Hawks with 35 points, while Ben Purser (16 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) was typically brilliant. Brad Tinsley (23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jarrad Prue (20 points, 21 rebounds, 10-11 FG) again led the Lightning as they tasted defeat for the first time.
Stirling Senators fell at home to Mandurah in a 107-101 loss, with the Magic consolidating their spot in the top eight for the time being with a 4-2 record. The Magic finished off strong with a 33-19 last quarter to snatch the win as Paul Hafford (29 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists), Tim Mullenax (27 points, 16 rebounds) and Ben Smith (27 points, 14 rebounds) all got amongst it. Josh Throns led the Senators with 27 points and 9 rebounds, while Cody Ellis had 17 points and 15 boards.
Kalamunda sunk to a 115-75 loss at the hands of a rampant Joondalup, with the visitors shooting the ball at 50% for the match. After an even first quarter the Wolves dominated the final three quarters, with Trian Illiadis (27 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists) and Robert Huntington (23 points, 11 rebounds) leading the way. Adhar Mayen led the disappointing Suns with 22 points and 6 rebounds while Ben Smith chimed in with 20 points of his own.
Finally, Lakeside bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 112-89 win over Kalamunda, with a 65-33 rebound count proving far too much to overcome for the Suns. Brad Tinsley (24 points, 9 assists, 11-14 FG) backed up with another strong showing, while Jarrad Prue (21 points, 29 rebounds) was enormous on the boards once more. Louis Timms (36 points, 10 rebounds) was the clear best for the visitors as the rest of his teammates struggled to get going.
SBL Women
Rockingham used a devastating 29-9 third term to beat South West in an 82-65 win. The Slammers managed just 2-of-10 from the foul line in the third as they let the game slip away. Darcee Garbin (28 points, 20 rebounds) was superb with a huge double-double-double to be the standout for the Flames, while for the visitors it was Lauren Jeffers (22 points, 12 rebounds) who led the way despite committing 12 turnovers.
A much-improved Perth Redbacks fell to a seventh-straight loss in a 68-60 loss to East Perth Eagles. The Redbacks managed just 2 points on 1-of-16 shooting in the third term as the possibility of an unlikely win slipped away. Stephanie Jones exploded for 33 points and 5 rebounds to get her side over the line, while the Redbacks were led by 18 points and 13 rebounds from the dependable Jessica Jakens.
Lakeside stayed undefeated in 2014 with a solid 67-49 win over Perry Lakes. The Lightning were led by an exceptional performance from Krystal Stoneking (20 points, 15 rebounds), while Courtney Byrnes had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Only Sarah Donovan (11 points) reached double digits for the Hawks in a frustrating night.
Mandurah got over the top of a determined Stirling side in a 79-74 away win to move into the top four. In a game that was even in almost every statistical area, Casey Mihovilovich was the best for the Magic once again with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists to be the standout performer. Amber Land finished the night with 20 points and 8 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting for the Senators, who remain 2-2 after four weekends of competition.
Kalamunda moved into the top eight with an impressive 76-66 win over Joondalup. A strong first half saw the Suns take a 13-point advantage into the rooms, and with only seven players suited up the home side held on in the second half thanks to Adrienne Jones, who had 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals on 11-of-11 from the line. Nikita-Lee Martin had 20 points and 6 rebounds for the Wolves, while Chelsea Burns managed 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 steals in a brilliant all-round performance.
A Jess Van Schie basket with 14 seconds on the clock has lifted Lakeside to a thrilling 70-69 victory over Kalamunda. The Suns were seconds away from completing a big upset but fell short when Chelsea Armstrong was off target at the buzzer. Emily Fielding (23 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals) and Kari Pickens (20 points, 11 rebounds) led their side to victory with strong performances throughout the night, while Armstrong (16 points, 3 assists), Adrienne Jones (16 points, 4-5 3PT) and Jennie Rintala (13 points, 15 rebounds) all worked hard in defeat for the improving Suns.
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